Down ACFL Division 4
Dundrum 6-20  Ballykinlar 1-05

Parish rivals Dundrum and Ballykinlar reaquainted themselves with each other on Friday night and in the end the Duns reigned supreme by a handsome thirty points.

In a very one sided game it was the exploits of the six Dundrum forwards that ultimately led to Ballykinlar's downfall. This and the fact that they had star midfielder Ryan Carr sent off within ten minutes of the start.

Damien Furphy's charges were first to get out of the blocks with a point but Carr's sending off turned the game on it's head. Dundrum racked up nine consecutive scores including a hard drive to the net by Paddy Doran and an opportunist Cormac Venney goal.

Five minutes from the break Gavin Grant got Ballykinlar back in to the game with an excellent score and then Mark Smith followed this up with a lucky goal after Dundrum keeper Colm King fumbled the corner forward's shot .The tigerish Paul Reynolds added to this shortly after and at this point it looked like the Kinlar could grab someting from the game.

Then just before half time Dundrum put their neighbours to the sword with a Martin Coughlan point, a penalty from Kieran Walsh and a rasping netbuster from Paddy Doran. This gave the Duns an unassailable thirteen point lead at the break.

The second half turned out to be a shooting practice exercise for Dundrum. Twelve points on the trot including excellent efforts from John Hurley and Aaron Doyle increased their team's lead to twenty five points.

Damien Smith and Gavin Grant replied to this barrage with two converted frees but the Duns ran away with it in the final minutes with Conor McShane banging in two goals. These were just reward for his energetic performance throughout the game.

Ballykinlar have fallen on hard times recently and their confidence will probably have taken another dive after this demoralising derby defeat. Nevertheless there were some encouraging performances from Gavin Grant, Barry and Ryan Mageean, Mark Smith and Paul Reynolds.

Dundrum played some excellent football with very neat passing combining well with accurate shooting. The full back line was solid throughout with Michael Rooney being particularly impressive. All three half backs got their name on the scoresheet with Philip Shields scoring his first point in five years. The midfield and forwards had a field day, picking off scores at will. Paddy Doran and Conor McShane were very potent throughout and can be very pleased with their return.

Dundrum are still riding the promotion hope bandwagon while Ballykinlar look set to battle it out at the foot of the table for the remainder of the season. 

Dundrum: C.King, P.Byrne, N.McLaughlin, M.Rooney, P.Shields (0-01), J.Hurley (0-01), J.McMullan (0-01), K.Walsh (1-04, 1 Pen, 4 Frees), A.Doyle (0-01), P.Doran (2-01), C.Kielty (0-01), M.Melville (0-01), C.McShane (2-01), M.Coughlan (0-01), C.Venney (1-05). Subs: P.McComiskey (0-02), M.Murray, R.Smyth, K.Byrne, J.McKibben

East Down Minor League Section B
Liatroim 2-14  Dundrum 4-10

The expression on the faces of the two entities after this game said it all. On the one hand you had a jubilant Dundrum team, with smiles as wide as Fontenoy Park itself. On the other you had a hugely disappointed Liatroim offering with defeat etched in every crevice of their sweat covered faces.

Defeat meant a lot to Liatroim after this game. If they had of beaten their opponents they would have been crowned League champions and avoided a possible playoff with Teconnaught. Now it looks like that playoff will take place with the Annacloy men expected to win their remaining games.

Liatroim were infact one minute from victory. They held the minimum advantage over Dundrum with the game going in to injury time. At this point East Down Chairman Martin Fitzsimons lifted the League Shield out of it's box in anticipation of a Fontenoy victory. However, he nor Liatroim reckoned on Marc Cunningham popping up from centre half back to shoot to the Fontenoy's net with the last kick of this cliffhanger.

Although Cunningham's goal was the icing on the cake for Dundrum, it took a total team effort to overcome the League leaders. This was typified by Paul Rooney's third minute point which the Duns strived to get after Liatroim had opened the scoreline. Rooney's point instilled confidence in his teamates from the start and provided the catlyst for further scores from Paul McComiskey and Chris Hogg.

Liatroim's response to Dundrum's early domination was a goal and a point in a very fast paced two minute period. This opened up a two point lead for the homeside who were looking increasingly threatening.

Dundrum then realised that Liatroim would punish them on the attack so the defence tightened up with Kieran McShane and Paddy Cunningham putting in some superb tackles and Declan Kavanagh and Barry Melville breaking up the Liatroim play. This spurred on the midfield and the forwards who drew inspiration from this industrious work.

The next fifteen minutes were Dundrum all the way with Chris Hogg getting his team in to the rythmn with an expertly hit free. Following on from this Dundrum kept the ball in the Liatroim half and time after time they drew the Fontenoy men in to fouling. In one such incident Paul McComiskey was dragged down just outside the 21'. As the Liatroim players protested to the referee, the quick thinking McComiskey took hold of the ball and drove it in to the Liatroim net to put Dundrum in to a two point lead.

Moments after McComiskey's goal the Liatroim defence found themselves in dissaray once more and this allowed the towering Sean Dillon to fist to the net after a defensive mixup in the homeside's box. Five points now separated the teams with Dundrum really on form.

Further efforts from Paul Rooney, Paul McComiskey and Chris Hogg wrapped up Dundrum's first half total and extended their lead to an unforseen eight points.

Then just before the interval Liatroim grabbed themselves a lifeline with two well merited points which put a less threatening look on the scoreboard at the break.

The second half opened in a blaze of glory for Liatroim as they split the sticks five times in succession in the first ten minutes to rattle the away side. One more score and the teams would have been level.

Although they started slow Dundrum picked themselves up and drove forward with purpose. This yielded two well taken scores from McShane and McComiskey which put a goal back between the sides.

As the game entered the last quarter Liatroim got on top again and seemed content to put the ball over the bar. They did this three times in succession and at a crucial period in the game they levelled affairs.

With eight minutes remaining the Dundrum management shuffled their pack and brought on Richard Fitzsimons. This payed immediate dividends as Fitzsimons set up McShane for a great point and then found the net himself after sliding the ball under the Liatroim keeper all within three minutes of coming on.

With four minutes to go and four points in it Liatroim went for broke. They bombarded the Dundrum backline and on their third attempt at goal Mark Smith's net was breached for only the second time in the game. Only a point separated the entities at this stage.

As the match hit the hour mark Liatroim grew in confidence. Two well worked moves ended up with scores and with a point advantage they looked odds on to secure not only the victory but the League title as well.

Though as previously mentioned they didn't count on Marc Cunningham. In a move which originated from Paul Rooney in the half back line and carried through via McShane and McComiskey, Cunningham took possession and slammed a trademark drive to the net to the absolute delight of his teamates and supporters. Dundrum had won and what a way to do it!

Dundrum: M.Smith, K.McShane, P.Cunningham, A.Rooney, D.Kavanagh, M.Cunningham (1-00), B.Melville, M.Melville, M.Rooney, C.McShane (0-02), P.McComiskey (1-03, 1 Free), C.Hogg (0-03, 2 Frees), S.Dillon (1-00), S.Kavanagh, P.Rooney (0-02). Sub: R.Fitzsimons (1-00)